Title

Affect of Friction

Problem Scenario

This experiment is worth doing because it would show different amounts of friction on different materials slid down a ramp.

Broad Question

How do different surfaces effect friction.

Specific Question

Do objects slid down a ramp affect more friction with some material or others.

Hypothesis

I hypothesize that the friction of the slid object will cause the most friction when slid on the wood material of the ramp.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

Material of friction, measurement of friction

Dependent Variable:

How Far Object Slid Traveled off Ramp

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Ramp, Object Slid on Ramp

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Friction: The resistance that one that one surface or object encounters when moving over another.
Affect: Make a difference to.
Surface: The outside part or uppermost layer of something.

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General Plan

For this experiment I'm going to use a ramp with a certain type of material on it and when I slid the object down the ramp I will measure the amount of friction from the slid object down the ramp. I will also be collecting the data and taking multiple observations through out the experiment.

Potential Problems And Solutions

I could not use the same ramp so I would label it to make sure I did.
I could not use the same measurement of friction so if I labeled that I would no make that mistake.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

While making the ramp I could get a splinter.

Experimental Design

What is your experimental unit?

One Ramp, Three Balls

Number Of Trials:

2

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

3

Number of Observations:

5

When data will be collected

2/4/13

Where will data be collected?:

At my house.

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
Poster Board	1	Staples	$5.00
Ramp	1	My House	$0.00
Balls	3	My House	$0.00
Materials	4	My House	$0.00

Detailed Procedure

1. First get materials to start project.
2. Secondly build ramp to start project.
3. Next Test experiment and procedure.
4. Next Set up ramp and begin collecting data.
5. After do experiment and collect data at my house.
5. Next do multiple observations for each material.
6. Lastly repeat with 3 more subjects for each trial.

Diagram

Photo List

the ramp, objects slid down ramp, materials on ramp, measurement of friction.

Time Line

Procedure, timeline, photo list complete 2/1
Begin experiment no later than 2/4
Experiments done 3/1
Analysis 3/7
Discussion 3/15
Wiki Complete 3/15
Posters Complete 3/22
KMS Fair 3/29

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Data Table

Trial#	Material Wood	Material Plastic	Material Carpet	Material Towel
#1	91 1/2 BB	88 1/8 BB	95 7/8 BB	99 3/4 BB
#2	104 3/8 LB	102 LB	81 LB	90 3/4 LB
#3	82 5/8 GB	72 GB	64 1/2 GB	71 1/8 GB
#1	91 7/8 BB	89 1/8 BB	90 BB	92 1/4 BB
#2	105 3/4 LB	101 3/4 LB	84 LB	93 1/2 LB
#3	85 1/2 GB	69 7/8 GB	70 3/8 GB	70 1/2 GB

BB= Baseball
LB= Lacrosse Ball
GB= Golf Ball

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

See Data Table Above

Graphs

Photos

Result

My graph shows the differences of the amounts of friction for each of the different surfaces. It also shows the amounts of friction in inches of how far each object slid down the ramp how much each friction each object caused. I also observed that my experiment went a lot smoother when I had another person to help me.

Conclusion

I reject my hypothesis due to that I said that the most friction would be caused when the objects were slid on the wood material would cause the most friction but the object that actually caused the most friction was the towel material which was different from what I had first hypothesized.

Discussion

The meaning of my experiment was to see how much friction could be caused form multiple different objects that were slid down a ramp which had different materials on it to cause friction for each of the different objects that I slid down the ramp.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

My benefit to the community or science is that I experimented the amounts of friction of objects slid down a ramp with different materials for each object slid and got data to show for.

Background Research

Friction is a force that holds back the movement of a sliding object. Friction is anywhere that objects come into contact with each other. The force acts in the opposite direction to the way wants to slide. So for example if a car needs to come to a stop at a stop sign, it stops because of the friction between the brakes and the tires.

References

http://www.school-for-champions.com/experiments/friction_measure_coefficient_with_ramp.htm
http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_friction.html

Abstract

I choose to do this this experiment for many reasons. First I choose this it looked like something that would be fun to do and a learning experience. Secondly because I thought I could do a good job at it and earn a good grade by doing this experiment. And lastly I wanted to figure out about how rolling different objects down a ramp with different materials on that ramp would effect how much friction was produced from each of the materials and objects that I used in this experiment.